This invention relates to trays or pads for shipping, storage, or intermediate handling of articles, and is more particularly concerned with trays formed of corrugated paper board or equivalent sheet materials where a filler is sandwiched between an inner liner and an outer liner. The invention relates not only to trays made of corrugated paper starting material, but also to those made of other flat sheet material where an alternative filler is used, e.g., cellulose fiber or a foamed polymer. The liners can be paper, or in some cases a plastic film or metallized plastic film. The sheet material can also be wrapped chipboard. The invention can apply to solid sheet material as well, i.e., flat sheet board without liners.
Shallow boxes and trays are often employed for carrying articles of manufacture. Trays of this type are particularly useful in shipping or handling automotive body panels or similar items which must be protected from contacting and rubbing against one another or against other items which could cause scratches, mars, or surface blemishes. The tray is required to be lightweight but substantially rigid and durable. The tray should be conveniently stored as a flat blank, and should be easily assembled when needed. Double-wall strength is desirable. The tray should be arranged to hold moldings or other articles of various widths and lengths in separate cells.
A number of corrugated trays and similar articles appear in the prior patents. George U.S. Pat. No. 3,235,432 relates to a sheet of material that is slit scored on opposite sides to allow the sheet to be folded and used as pan of a composite structure. Greenberg U.S. Pat. No. 2,314,491; White et al. U.S. Pat. No. 2,124,808; Boeye U.S. Pat. No. 1,801,998; and Westling U.S. Pat. No. 985,870 relate to various dividers and fillers in which a material such as corrugated board is folded to make a divider or packing insert. Olson U.S. Pat. No. 3,559,866 describes a carton liner formed of a fiberboard strip that is deformed with triangular projections. A plate-like article, e.g. a sheet of plate glass, can be suspended in aligned slots in larger ones of the triangular projections.
No one has provided a suitable pre-cut blank that could be folded and formed into a tray adapted for the above-mentioned role. No one has previously used slit-scoring and power rolling to produce a suitable tray of corrugated material.